Joyeux Noelle
by Prairie24andMoochiecat2009
Summary: Will Gil Grissom make it home for his first Christmas as Sara's husband? One chapter will be posted each day with the epilogue being posted the day before Christmas Eve. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Gil, Sara, and the rest of CSI doesn't belong to us.

"Joyeux Noelle"

Chapter 1

Sara Sidle-Grissom squinted as she carefully picked up a hair from the carpet of her latest crime scene with her tweezers. She placed the hair in an evidence bindle and sealed it, before putting her tweezers in the pocket of her vest and standing to stretch the kinks out of her back. It had been a long night, starting with a robbery/shooting at a convenience store and ending with a double homicide in one of Las Vegas's many suburbs. Sara was now well into overtime and exhausted. She used to work hour after hour without caring, taking quick cat naps to get her needed rest. But since her marriage to Gil Grissom, all of that had changed. Even now that he was in Paris and she was in Vegas, she hurried home to talk to him on the phone or chat with him over the computer.

Sara put her hands on the small of her back and grimaced. The muscles were in knots from hours of bending over collecting evidence.

Nick Stokes looked up and smiled sympathetically. "We're almost done, Sar," he told her. "You'll be home talking to Griss before you know it."

Sara grinned at him. Nick knew how much she missed her husband.

"So when is Grissom getting here?" Nick asked.

"I'm waiting for him to call me with flight details," Sara told her friend. Hopefully, Grissom would have that information today. He had several lectures scheduled right before Christmas, so he hadn't been quite sure when he'd be able to get away.

"What are you guys planning for Christmas?" Nick asked as he finished bagging the last of the evidence.

"Just a quiet day with the two of us," Sara replied. "Catherine invited us to come over, but we decided to celebrate at our house this year."

"Uh-huh," Nick grinned knowingly. "Celebrate is right." He waggled his eyebrows up and down at Sara.

"Nick!" Sara blushed, but before she could respond her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller I.D. and her grin nearly split her face in two. "Hi," she answered softly, walking away from Nick and heading for the front door.

Nick chuckled softly. He knew by the tone of Sara's voice that it was Grissom on the other end of the line. He was glad to see Sara find happiness; he didn't know anyone that deserved it more.

Outside, Sara walked across the dusty, sandy yard and leaned against the crime lab's large black SUV. "I miss you," she said into the phone with a sigh.

"I miss you, too, Sara," Grissom replied. "It's almost Christmas and then I'll be in Vegas to celebrate with you." Their current arrangement of Vegas and Paris worked well most of the time, but he missed curling under the blankets with Sara at the end of the day and feeling her soft warm skin pressed against his. He was the one sighing this time, but he pulled himself back to the present when he realized Sara was speaking to him. "What was that, Dear?"

"Do you have your flight information yet?" Sara pushed away from the side of the car and opened the passenger side door. She rummaged through the glove compartment for a pen and a piece of paper.

"Yes, I booked my flight this morning. Do you have paper?" Grissom asked.

Sara settled herself in the passenger seat and placed the piece of paper on her thigh. "I'm ready." She held her pen poised over the sheet of paper and waited for Grissom to give her his flight information.

"I'll be arriving at seven a.m. Christmas morning on American Airlines Flight 174; we have a short layover in New York before we continue on to Vegas." Grissom couldn't keep the smile off of his face at the thought of seeing Sara. He could hear the happiness in Sara's voice when she repeated the information back to him.

"American Airlines Flight 174 from New York arriving at seven a.m. on Christmas morning." Sara leaned back in the seat and made herself comfortable. "I can't wait to see you. I went shopping at Victoria's Secret yesterday." She grinned saucily at the phone even though her husband couldn't see her.

Grissom groaned into the phone. "I miss you, Sara, and you shouldn't tease me like that."

Sara laughed, but was suddenly lonesome. In a city full of people with good friends like Nick and Greg around, she ached with loneliness. The only person who could fill the void inside of her was on the other side of the world. "Christmas will be here before we know it," she said, trying to boost her spirits.

Gil sighed. "Three weeks." There was silence for a moment as they both contemplated the lonely days ahead of them. "I can't get there any sooner, Sara. My schedule is booked."

"I can't make it to Paris right now," Sara commiserated. "It looks like we'll just have to wait."

The minutes, days, and hours crawled by for Sara. She kept herself busy by decorating the townhouse for Christmas and planning a menu for a romantic Christmas dinner for two. She went grocery shopping and bought all of her husband's favorite things. Christmas Eve morning when she got off of work, Sara gathered her cleaning supplies and cleaned the house from top to bottom. When she finished and put her supplies away, she flopped down on the couch and turned on the television, willing the rest of the day to go by quickly.

Sara must have dozed off. When she woke up, a news report was on. The reporter, an African-American woman in her early thirties, was speaking of a horrific tragedy in France. Sara sat up and tucked her hair behind her ears, her eyes glued to the television.

"Although the explosion at the Parisian airport happened several hours ago, not much information is known at this time."

Sara gripped the cushions of the couch tightly in her fists; her breath came in short gasps as she leaned forward closer to the TV. Gil would have been at the airport in Paris several hours ago.

To Be Continued....


	2. Chapter 2

"Joyeux Noelle"

By Prairie24 and Moochiecat2009

Disclaimer: Nothing concerning CSI belongs to us, nor are we receiving any remuneration other than a few reviews. If we owned CSI, the whole team would have been bowling together, including Warrick and Gil! LOL!

Part of this story is based on two real life experiences Moochie had, many, many years ago. They will be referenced in the last chapter.

Sara sat straight up, clutching the couch like her life depended on it. She felt nauseous, light-headed, and scared out her mind. She felt like she was in the middle of an asthma attack, unable to adequately breathe.

She grabbed her cell phone off the coffee table and pressed the speed-dial for Gil's number. No answer. It went to voice message after 10 rings.

Sara switched to CNN, which was showing the destruction at Orly, CDG (Charles De Gaulle), just outside of Paris. It was truly horrifying. Ten terrorists had placed themselves at five points inside the airport and five snuck themselves onto the tarmacs. They all ignited their bomb-loads at exactly the same time. With the amount of C-4 they each carried, the result was utter devastation. Not only did the airport basically rip apart, 12 planes were engulfed and destroyed, along with their innocent passengers.

Sara numbly watched as a young, dark-haired, dark-eyed young woman, outside of the airport, was interviewed. She spoke in French, and the English interpretation was scrolled across the bottom of the screen. "We came to pick up my brother. He's been in the Nederlands (Holland) for the last six months, on an internship for Caltex Petroleum Corp. We got here and were parked in the short-term parking, waiting for Daniel to get out of the customs area and get his luggage. The entire airport exploded in front of us." The young woman began crying.

A much older man came to her side and enveloped her in his arms. "Shh, shh, mon fille, (my daughter). We will hope for the best."

At that moment, a young man burst through the crowd. "Papa! Isabeaux! C'est moi! (It's me) Je vais bien! (I'm all right)!"

Sara watched as the family enfolded their loved one into their arms. And she felt envy.

Sara's cell phone rang and she grabbed it, but it wasn't the number she wanted to see. "Hey Cath."

"Sara, are you OK? "

" Not, really, Cath."

"Then, may I and Nick and Greg come over?"

Sara breathed deeply, and realized she would like to have her "family" members with her. "Yes, Cath; please come."

Fifteen minutes later, Cath, Nick, Greg, Ray, Doc, SuperDave, Hodges, Wendy, Mindie, Henry, Archie, and yeah, even Ecklie, were outside of Sara and Gil's town home. Sara opened the door, took one look, and almost collapsed into Cath's arms. Everyone let Cath take her back inside.

"I can't reach him, Cath. I can't reach him. No answer on his cell phone, no answer at the apartment. No one at The Sorbonne has any answer. He was scheduled to be on American Airlines Flight 174, bound for JFK, and then on to Las Vegas. All they can tell me is that he was listed for that flight, but the airplane was destroyed in the attack. They have no real idea who had already boarded the plane. Oh, God, Cath, I think I've lost him." At that juncture, Sara slid down onto the floor in total tears.

Cath sat down next to her and put her arm around Sara's shoulders. "Please, don't think the worst. We DON'T know anything, Sara. Just cling to hope. O.K.?"

Sara looked up at the woman who had once been her adversary, but had become, instead, her loyal and beloved friend. "Oh, Cath, Oh, Cath, It was supposed to be such a wonderful and special Christmas. I was going to tell Gil on Christmas Day, that I'm two months pregnant. I got confirmation from my Doctor the day before yesterday. How will I raise his child without him?"

"You'll raise this baby with love and with all of us gathered around you. If, and I say, IF, Gil is gone, you have an entire family who will support and help you. Heck, we'll spoil the dickens out the little guy or gal."

Cath enfolded Sara within her arms, hugged her, hard, and then, brusquely, said, "Come on girl. We've got lot of folks here who deeply care about you and Gil. Let's just start trying to get more information. I mean, we've got the hottest E-Tech in the world here. I think it's time to call on Archie's services… Don't you?"

Sara gave Cath a watery, weak, smile, and said, "Yeah, why not. Let's have him give it his best."

Conrad Ecklie had been listening, unbeknownst to the two ladies. He got out his cell phone and dialed a number. "Tom, it's Conrad. I'm pulling in my one and only favor. Can you find out if Dr. Gilbert A. Grissom boarded American Airlines Flight 174 at Orly, CDG this afternoon?" Tom Nast, FBI, Agent In Charge for the Las Vegas station, grimaced. "Conrad, I already know that answer."

Conrad Ecklie sucked in his breath, and said, in a trembling voice, "So, tell me…"


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: We don't own CSI. End of Story.

"Joyeux Noelle"

Chapter 3

"Well," Tom began, "the computers are down because of the explosion, but we do know that Dr. Grissom boarded a flight at the airport at some time today. Other than that, I can't help you."

Ecklie sighed. "Thanks, Tom. I appreciate your help." Ecklie snapped his phone shut and turned to see the eyes of everyone in the room on him.

"Well?" Catherine asked, her blue eyes boring into him. She tightened her arm around Sara's shoulders as if she knew he didn't have good news.

Ecklie sighed. "I have a friend in FBI, Tom Nast. He said that all of the computers are down, but from what he could gather Grissom did board a flight at that airport today."

A sob ripped from Sara's throat and she buried her face in Catherine's shoulder. Nick bent down next to the women and rubbed Sara's back gently. "Hey, Sara, don't give up on Grissom yet. Let's wait and see what Archie comes up with." He glanced across the condo to see Archie setting up his laptop on the small dining room table.

Sara shuddered in Catherine's arms, and the strawberry blonde looked up at Nick with concern. "It's not good for the baby for her to be this upset. Help me get her to the couch." Nick nodded, and the two of them held Sara gently under the arms and led her to the couch. Sara leaned limply against them and sagged weakly into the couch cushions when they eased her down.

"I'll get you some water, Sara," Greg told her, hurrying into the kitchen and returning a few moments later with a bottle of water. He placed it in her hand, and Sara raised it to her lips and mechanically took a sip. Greg didn't think she was even aware of what she was doing. He glanced around and noticed that everyone except for Nick, Sara, and Catherine was gathered around Archie and his laptop. He knew that there was a small TV in Grissom and Sara's office. "I think I'll go check out the news," he told Nick softly and hurried out of the room.

The condo was quiet. The group gathered in the dining room was quiet so that Archie could work. The low hum of the television came from the office where Greg was watching the news with the door shut so as not to upset Sara any further. Every five minutes, Sara would try calling Grissom on his cell phone, but every time it would go to voice mail. Each unsuccessful attempt to reach Grissom brought a fresh torrent of sobs. After the fifth time, Catherine finally pried the phone from Sara's hand and tucked it in the pocket of her sweatshirt.

"Sara, you need to try to relax - for the baby. This isn't good for the baby."

Nick reached out and brushed Sara's dark hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear. He handed her the water bottle from the coffee table. "Drink a little more water, Sar."

Sara managed a few sips of water before handing the bottle back to Nick. "I'm tired," she said in a voice raspy with tears. She stumbled to her feet. "I'm going to bed." She stopped in the dining room on her way to the bedroom and forced herself to gather her strength and stand up tall. "Anything?" she asked Archie hopefully.

The computer genius frowned. "I'm sorry, Sara. There's just so much damage. It's going to take forever to weed through all of this information."

Sara's lips pressed together in a thin line and her face became even paler than before. "Thanks for trying. Archie," she told him bravely. Then she turned and shuffled down the hall to the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

A few minutes later, Greg emerged from the office. "Things don't look good for Grissom," he reported to his friends.

"Archie isn't having any luck," Nick told him.

As the evening wore on, people stretched out on the couch, in chairs, and even in the floor and dropped off to sleep one-by-one. Though the festive lights of Sara's small Christmas tree twinkled in the corner, no one even thought of celebrating Christmas. They were too worried about their friend and his distraught wife.

When Sara awoke just before seven a.m. the house was quiet. Her eyes felt swollen and sore from all of her tears, and she hoped that last night's events were just a bad dream. Opening her bedroom door as if in a daze, Sara moved slowly down the hall. The sight of her crime lab family draped in slumber all over her living room and dining room let her know that yes, Grissom really was missing and presumed dead in yesterday's deadly terrorist attack. She felt more tears burning in her eyes, but before they could fall she heard a rustling sound at the door.

Sara's throat went dry and she froze in her tracks. It couldn't be. The door swung open and in walked Gil Grissom loaded down with his suitcase and his laptop.

Sara felt the world spinning around her. She felt hot, and then cold, and blackness swam at the edge of her vision. Then suddenly she was in Grissom's arms. She had no memory of how she got there; she just knew that his arms were around her and that he was warm and real. She sobbed in his arms and Gil just held her close and rocked her gently. Terror gripped at his heart as he tried to figure out what was wrong with Sara.

That's when he realized that his home was full of people - many people. Sara's sobs must have wakened them because they were now wide awake and staring at him like they had seen a ghost.

"Gil!" Catherine gasped. "You're alive!" She was on her feet, and then he was surrounded by coworkers.

Not once letting go of Sara, Grissom looked at everyone in confusion. "Of course I'm alive. What supposedly happened to me?"

"You haven't heard," Catherine breathed.

Gil shook his head, becoming increasingly frustrated. "Heard what?"

"The airport in Paris was destroyed in a terrorist attack yesterday."

He looked at Catherine in disbelief. "Yesterday?" he repeated.

"I thought I had lost you," came a soft voice from his arms.

Gil stared down into Sara's brown eyes, red from her tears, but shining with happiness. "You haven't lost me, dear. I'm just fine." He kissed her forehead, then her nose, before finally making it to her lips.

Sara sighed, but then leaned against her husband weakly. "I don't think my legs are going to hold me up much longer," she said tiredly. Gil led her to the couch, but then looked up at Catherine with questioning eyes.

"It was a rough night," was all she would say by way of explanation, but her eyes told Gil how bad the night had really been.

Sara leaned into Gil's side on the couch and looked up at him. "You took a different flight," she stated, her brown eyes full of questions.

He nodded. "I got to the airport early, hoping to catch an earlier flight. A young man decided to stay with his fiancé for the holidays instead of flying back to the states to be with his parents." Gil pressed a quick kiss to Sara's forehead before he continued. "Now I know why the flight attendants told us that the cable on the plane went out. They didn't want us to see what was going on and panic."

Sara wrapped her arms around Gil and relaxed into him. She stifled a yawn; the night had been emotional and exhausting, and she hadn't been able to sleep.

Catherine saw that her friend was fading fast and glanced around at their coworkers. "I think it's time we head for home and give Sara and Gil some privacy." Everyone agreed, and after many "goodnights" and "thank yous," "Merry Christmases," and "I'm glad you're okays," Gil and Sara were finally alone.

Gil cuddled with his wife under the blankets on their bed and Sara snuggled into his side. "I love you," she murmured, tracing patterns over his chest with her fingers. "When I thought I had lost you, my entire world fell apart. I couldn't think; I couldn't function. I could barely breathe."

Gil tightened his arms around his wife and turned so that he could look directly into her face. "Sara, you know that I will do everything in my power to always come home to you. You are my life."

Sara nodded. "I know," she whispered. Then, "There's something I need to tell you. I almost lost you today and you would have never known."

"What's that?" Gil asked curiously. He studied his wife's expression, trying to predict what she was going to say next, but he was unprepared when her words left her mouth.

"You're going to be a daddy, Gil. I'm pregnant." Sara's brown eyes sparkled with excitement, but they dimmed a little when he didn't have an immediate reaction. "Gil?" she finally asked, her heart pounding nervously in her chest.

"A daddy?" Gil finally managed to eke out. "A baby?" Then she was in his arms and he was kissing her over and over. "Sara, I love you - a baby - our baby."

Sara laughed against his face and kissed his chin before pulling away. "You scared me there for a minute. I thought you were going to say you didn't want this baby."

"Oh no, Sara, I've always wondered what it would be like to have a baby with you - a perfect combination of us." His lips sought Sara's and it was quite awhile before either of them spoke again. Sara's head was lying over his heart, her favorite place. Gil was running his hands through her sweaty, tussled hair.

"Merry Christmas, My Love," he told her, finally remembering what day it was.

Sara leaned her chin on her hand and smiled at her husband before stretching to kiss the endearingly cute dimple on his chin. "Merry Christmas, Gil." She paused for a moment. "I bought some things for a Christmas dinner for us." Sara had forgotten about the groceries stashed in the refrigerator after the events of the last day.

Gil reached out and threaded his fingers through her dark hair. "I don't need a fancy Christmas dinner; I just want to be with you. You're all I need." He pulled Sara up to his lips and Christmas dinner was forgotten.

Epilogue to Follow

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	4. Epilogue

We don't own CSI, if we did, oh, things would be so much different, LOL!

Tags: Sara & Gil, romance, a bit of angst. Set in today's world.

EPILOGUE to Joyeux Noelle

Sunday, July 4, 2010

"GRISSOM! GRISSOM! Where the hell is Grissom?!" Jim Brass went screaming down the halls of the lab.

Catherine intercepted him and grabbed him by the arm. "What are you screaming about Jim? Anyone would think the lab is on fire! "

Jim stopped to get his breath. "It's Sara! She just buzzed me. Gil's phone isn't on. Her water's broke and she's gone to Desert Palm."

Catherine took a huge breath and said, "Oh shit, Gil forgot his phone. He left it here. He's teaching an intro entomology course over at the University. I'll get hold of the Provost and have Gil paged. In the meantime, let's get the hell over to Desert Palm."

Greg, Nick, and Dr. Ray heard this exchange. Nick said, "OK, page him, but Greg and I are going to go GET him."

Dr. Ray nodded in agreement and then said, "OK, you guys get Grissom, I'm going with Cath and Jim."

Doc Robbins had come out into the hall and heard the exchanges. He volunteered to drive Cath, Jim, and Dr. Ray to the hospital. His offer was readily accepted. Ecklie had come into the hall, heard the conversation, and asked if he could come along. Doc Robbins said, "Sure, there's plenty of room."

Nick and Greg raced to the University. The Provost told them where to find Grissom. They found him just ending his class.

"Gris, Gris, you've got to come! Sara's gone to Desert Palm. The baby's coming!"

Gris stared at Nick and Greg as if he couldn't understand what they were saying. He shook his head, and then the "light bulb" went off. "Oh My God, Oh, My God. The baby's coming!"

Fifteen minutes later, Nick and Greg let Gris out at the entry to the hospital. Gris raced through the entrance, stopping just long enough to establish that Sara was indeed in the labor ward. Gil sped up to the labor ward, and was greeted by Sara's obstetrician, Dr. Williams. "Whoa, you made it just in time, Gil. I think we only have a couple of more hours to go; maybe even less. Let's get you sterilized and into scrubs. I know your wife wants your presence. But I warn you, she's entering heavy labor, and she's going to curse your existence. Be prepared."

And it was pretty much as bad as Dr. Williams had said. Sara screamed that Gil was never going to be allowed back in her bed, ever again, and Gil just gritted his teeth as Sara crushed his hand. He directed her through her Lamaze training as best he could, and listened while his Dearest said she couldn't push anymore. Dr. Williams said she had only one more push to go. Just one more, and their child would be here.

Gil put his mouth down to Sara's ear, and told her, "I love you and I love this baby. Please, Dear, just one more push." Sara looked into his crystal blue eyes, steadied herself in the love she saw there, and bore down.

And at 6:21 pm, July 4, 2010, James Noel Warrick Grissom entered this world. 8lbs, 4 oz., 22 inches long, with a full head of very dark, curly hair.

After being given an APGAR score of 10 and being cleaned up, the new Grissom was given back to his Mom and Dad. After they were all moved to a private room, the CSI family began to visit. Jim Brass was first, which was only right, since little Jimmy was named for him, and Brass was going to be his Godfather. Then came the rest of "the family."

Jimmy was passed from Nick, to Greg, to Ray, to Doc Robbins & his wife Judy, to SuperDave, to Hodges, to Henry, to Wendy, to Mandy, and even Conrad Ecklie (who couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear)!

Sara and Gil looked on, basking in the love they felt from their work "family." Finally, the baby was passed back to his parents.

Doc Robbins said it all: "The love you have for one another will now be manifested in this miracle. Let us "toast" the arrival of James Noel Warrick Grissom. May we ALL be his supporters."

Sara turned her head into her husband's shoulder, to hide her tears of joy. She couldn't imagine a more wonderful beginning to her baby boy's life. Gil hugged her closer, and simply, thanked God.

Finis

Author's Note:

The premise of this story, for Moochie, were two experiences she had when she was much younger. Around the early 1970's, I went with my Dad to pick up my brother at LaGuardia Airport, the day before Christmas Eve. My brother was returning from a six-month internship at Dad's Company, Caltex Petroleum. Dan, my brother, was raised in Holland and has always cherished that six months back in his childhood home. When we arrived at the airport, the area housing lockers completely blew apart. We stayed there, in our car, wondering if we had lost my brother. We couldn't leave; we couldn't go in. We just sat. But I do remember my Dad getting up on the roof our car, trying to see what was going on. And, eventually, the people inside were let go. And my Dad spotted my brother. It really was a special Christmas

The second experience is from my last year at law school. I was graduating from The Valparaiso University School of Law (which is about 35 miles from Chicago--sometime I'll tell you all how I made my rent money for my apartment at law school by working at a famous Candy company in Chicago). Anyway, my parents attended my graduation and were scheduled to fly out of O'Hare on Sunday morning. That morning, a flight leaving O'Hare went up and then crashed. A friend of mine called me around 11am and said I'd better turn on my TV. I already had it packed. I had to drag it out of my car and plug it in. Remember, younger readers, there wasn't any cable or satellite TV back then. But every channel was covering the crash. My parents had given my their flight info, so I knew they were supposed to be on that flight. I called the number listed on the TV, and the airline people told me that my parents were listed as being scheduled for the flight. But they could not confirm they were ON the flight. It was a very bad day. I didn't have long distance privileges on my apt. phone, so I couldn't call my brother. (ah, younger readers, there were no cell phones in 1979). I kept calling my parents' phone in Tucson, Az, all day. At 10 pm. I called my parents, again, and my Dad answered. I damn near fainted. My parents didn't know anything about the crash. They had gotten to O'Hare really early, and there were seats on a much earlier flight, so they took that earlier flight. So, sometimes, miracles do occur.


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